Family
by Kira the Great
Summary: I don't like the little quips because I like to leave my story a surprise...but then people might get mad at me. Neji and Hinata go on a walk and it rains counsinlylove, NejiHina don't kill me, Neji a bit OOC because I can't write him.


I know I promised, "The Color of Blood," (my Gaara, Temari, and Kankurou fic) to some people…but I have so many ideas right now, I just have to get them out!...besides, I'm in a very Neji-esque mood today, and I don't get to write Hinata often.

Um…NejiHina.

Dang, I'm on a roll—3 fics in two days! W00t!

Rated T because of NejiHina pairing…I don't know if that fits or not. Whatev.

Family

She shoved her palm towards him, their practice becoming more and more competitive than it usually was. Today there seemed to be an underlying burst of emotions towards one another—something that they had kept hidden for so long that it now had no choice but to burst forward.

He leaned back, his back popping, and he grabbed her arm with his hand, pulling her over him and throwing her onto her back.

He stood up and stumbled around, coming to face her.

She lifted to her feet, wiping the blood from her lips. She corrected her positions, her eyes narrowing, veins erupting around their edges.

She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, waiting for him to confront her.

Instead he lowered his arms and said, "Let's stop here for now."

Hyuuga Hinata nodded and lowered her arms, bowing slightly to her older cousin. "Alright, Neji-niisan."

Hyuuga Neji turned to walk back towards the house when he paused and turned back to her. Her eyes were downcast and sad. Though they had been training together for many months now, her improvement was slow.

He glanced at the house and back to her and finally said, "Get your shoes. We can go for a walk."

She looked up at him, shocked. Neji almost never offered to go on a walk with her—it just wasn't something he did!

Nonetheless, Hinata was glad for the excuse to get out of the Hyuuga Estate, so she nodded and ran off to fetch her shoes.

Neji leaned against the door of the mansion gates and waited for her.

When she arrived, the two of them left.

It was rare to see the two of them walking together through Konoha, so when they did, people tended to stop and stare at them, as if they couldn't believe their eyes.

Once they had reached the forest near the back of the city, the two of them walked along one of the trails, completely silent the entire time.

It was a lovely spring day, a few clouds looming over the mountains, but not telling of rain. However, at this time of year, rain was something that could come at a whim.

Hinata admired some of the butterflies that crossed their path while Neji silently looked up into the sky, thinking things over. Yes, he had a deep loathing for the Head Family, but he was also bound to them by something stronger than hate—blood.

Hinata was his cousin, and in the future, probably his wife.

He didn't know how he felt about that. Really, he wasn't much into girls at this point of his life, being only fifteen. However, it was how the Hyuuga Clan worked. They were an ancient family, and so to keep their secrets from others, they tended to marry only within the family. The fact that Neji and Hinata had been betrothed since her birth was something he had had to deal with his entire life.

Every time he had fought against her, he had subconsciously aimed to kill her off, so that he wouldn't have to marry her someday. However, he always found himself being restrained by the curse given him by the Main Family.

He could fight her, but he couldn't try to kill her.

Hinata, blissfully unaware of her cousin's feelings for her, joyously walked along the path, looking at the fluttering ladybirds and butterflies and dragonflies.

Before long, however, the bugs began to disappear, and it was then that the two of them looked up to see that the sky had clouded over, dimming the sun little by little until the world was gray.

They were near the top of the mountainside by this point, so going back was pointless, especially since rain started to fall.

It was light at first, but within moments, it had become heavier and heavier, soaking them through and through.

"Come on," Neji said, taking Hinata by the arm and leading her towards the catacombs in the faces of the Hokage.

Once inside, Hinata dropped her jacket from her shoulders and wrung it out, water falling in thick streams onto the floor of the cave. She looked over at Neji, who was wringing his long hair out.

She smiled. "Neji-niisan?"

"Yes, Hinata-sama?"

"The rain is very beautiful, don't you think?" she asked, turning and looking outside, leaning against the rocky wall.

Neji approached her and looked outside as well. "Yes, but birds cannot fly in the rain."

She smiled. "No, I suppose not. They nest, though, with their families, and stay warm and dry."

Neji glanced at her, taking in her thin frame and her pale skin. She was the same as all of them—pale with dark hair and light eyes, though her features weren't as harsh as his, Hanabi's and Hiashi's.

As the rain began to mist over the city, Neji began to notice how his cousin really was. She was very opposite of him—where he thought of nothing but revenge and hatred, she thought of beauty and prosperity. Where he was strong and talented, she was weak and forced to train herself until she lived up to the expectations of others.

His relationship with her was love-hate. He loved her because she was family and he normally was forced to, but he hated her for the same reason.

He almost wondered if she had been born in the Branch Family, or he in the Main Branch, if they would have been friends.

"Neji-niisan?"

He blinked, not having realized he had been looking at her the entire time. "What?"

"Are you a-alright?"

Damn that stutter.

He nodded. "I'm fine, Hinata-sama."

"You're t-thinking about what we're g-going to have to do, aren't you?" she whispered, looking away from him.

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it."

"M-maybe you won't h-have to marry me," she said abruptly. "Since you d-don't want to…"

"I said don't worry about it."

"We'll h-have to deal with it s-sooner or later," she argued, turning to look at him. "I know you d-don't like me, but maybe—"

He rounded on her, grabbing her by her wrists and pinning her against the wall of the cave. He narrowed his eyes at her, and she dropped her jacket.

"N-Neji-niisan…"

"I said don't worry about it," he replied, and he leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. "We're family, and no matter how much either of us may dislike it, there's nothing we can do about it."

He released her wrists and looked outside. The rain had become lighter, nothing more than a soft drizzle.

"Let's go, Hiashi-san will be worried about us," he said, and he knelt, picking up her damp jacket and handing it to her.

She took it and followed him out of the cave.

She looked at her wrists, and then touched her forehead and smiled sadly. She wished that they could have been friends.

End.

I don't know what compelled me to write this. Probably my Tenten/Neji fics…I just wanted to do it…I know a lot of people don't support NejiHina…but I think it's logical. Whatever. I hope you liked it, and if you want to flame me, go ahead. I'll just be sickeningly sweet to you when I reply and I promise I'll call you, "Wittle-bubbly-boo-muffin-pants," or something like that :)


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